This invention relates to the testing of telephone equipment and in particular, to a new and improved switching assembly for connecting test equipment to selected telephone cables. Telephone cables typically are terminated in cable connectors, and one standard configuration is a fifty conductor connector providing for handling twenty-five line pairs. Various types of equipment are utilized in testing and analyzing telephone equipment and in some situations, it is desirable to be able to selectively connect the test equipment to more than one telephone cable. In the normal situation, this calls for the test person to physically plug the cable connector into the test equipment either directly or by means of an adaptor cable. Then when it is desired to connect the test equipment to another telephone cable, the first connection is physically taken apart and the second connection is physically made. This procedure may be repeated several times during a testing sequence.
Considerable time and effort are wasted in making the connections and changing the connections, and with every connection or disconnection there is the likelihood of damage to the connector components.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved switching assembly which permits a test person to selectively connect a piece of test equipment to either of two telephone cables and to change the connection as often as desired without requiring any physical moving of connectors.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a switching assembly which is easily packaged in a small container, which is manipulated by a single motion, typically a knob rotation, and which clearly indicates the cable to which the test equipment is connected.
These and other objects, advantages, features and results will more fully appear in the course of the following description.